What You Need to Know When Buying an Air Conditioner or Furnace

Your heating and cooling systems have many components that work together to provide optimal home comfort.

Air conditioning systems work hand in hand with your heating system, so upgrades to your cooling system will be affected by the efficiency of your heating system.

Direct Energy has a long history of providing quality products, expert installation and professional advisers who will recommend equipment and accessories that are right for your home, your family and your budget. Keep cool and comfortable with a new high-efficiency ENERGY STAR® qualified air conditioner.

Air Conditioner

Facts:

The typical central air conditioning system is a split system, with an outdoor air conditioning, or "compressor bearing unit" and an indoor coil, which is usually installed on top of the furnace in the home.

Using electricity as its power source, the compressor pumps refrigerant through the system to gather heat and moisture from indoors and remove it from the home.

Heat and moisture are removed from the home when warm air from inside the home is blown over the cooled indoor coil. The heat in the air transfers to the coil, thereby "cooling" the air.

The heat that has transferred to the coil is then "pumped" to the exterior of the home, while the cooled air is pumped back inside, helping to maintain a comfortable indoor temperature.

Benefits:

Cleaner air - As your central air conditioning system draws air out of various rooms in the house through return air ducts, the air is pulled through an air filter, which removes airborne particles such as dust and lint. Sophisticated filters may remove microscopic pollutants, as well. The filtered air is then routed to air supply ductwork that carries it back to rooms.

Quieter operation - Because the compressor bearing unit is located outside the home, the indoor noise level from its operation is much lower than that of a free-standing air conditioning unit.

Furnace

Facts:

A furnace works to keep a home warm in the winter and plays a critical part in the operation of an air conditioning system.

Furnaces produce heat through the combustion of natural gas in the furnace's burner. The heat produced from this process then passes through a heat exchanger. Air from your home's return air ducts is blown over the heat exchanger, thus warming the air.

The furnace's blower then blows the warmed air into the ductwork, which carries and disperses the warmed air throughout the home.

Benefits:

Indoor warmth any time it is required.

Energy efficiency -The efficiency of a furnace can be determined by its AFUE--or Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency. The minimum efficiency level for furnaces currently available is 80% AFUE. A rating of "80% AFUE" means that for every dollar you spend heating your home; 80 cents are actually applied to the generation of warmth. Compared to many of the 60% AFUE furnaces in older homes, 80% AFUE furnaces are a significant improvement. However, for enhanced energy efficiency, you may wish to consider a 95+% AFUE furnace.

Choosing the right Air Conditioner or Furnace

When it comes to buying a new air conditioner, there are many options. An Energy Management Consultant from Direct Energy can help take the confusion out of choosing the one that's right for your home.

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